Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders
Fall 1999
SPEC 4010
Individuals with Severe Disabilities
Three Credit Hours

REQUIRED TEXTBOOK(S)

McDonnell, J., Hardman, M., McDonnell, A, & Kiefer-O’Donnell, R. (1995). An introduction to persons with severe disabilities: educational and social issues. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

COURSE DESCRIPTION

Prerequisite: SPEC 3010 amd satifactory completion of the Junior Core. A study of the historical and legal treatment, identification, and unique characteristics of individuals who require extensive and/or pervasive supports thoughout the life cycle.

COLLEGE OF EDUCATION CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK PRINCIPLES

Principle 1.The teacher understands the central concepts, tools of inquiry, and structures of the discipline(s) he or she teaches and can create learning experiences that make these aspects of subject matter meaningful for students.

Principle 2.The teacher understands how children learn and develop, and can provide learning opportunities that support their intellectual, social and personal development.

Principle 3.The teacher understands how students differ in their approaches to learning and creates instructional opportunities that are adapted to diverse learners.

Principle 9.The teacher is a reflective practitioner who continually evaluates the effects of his/her choices and actions on others (students, parents, and other professionals in the learning community) and who actively seeks out opportunities to grow professionally.

Principle 10.The teacher fosters relationships with school colleagues, parents, and agencies in the larger community to support students' learning and well-being.

EDUCATIONAL OUTCOMES

Outcome 1. The teacher understands the central concepts, tools of inquiry, and structures of the discipline(s) he or she teaches and can create learning experiences that make these aspects of subject matter meaningful for students.

Outcome 2. The teacher understands how children learn and develop, and can provide learning opportunities that support their intellectual, social and personal development.

Outcome 3. The teacher understands how students differ in their approaches to learning and creates instructional opportunities that are adapted to diverse learners.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

The student will,

1. define severe disabilities (mental retardation) and explain various components of the definition of this term. (Principle1; Outcome 1)

2. describe identification procedures used in schools for determining classification of individuals who require extensive and/or pervasive supports thoughout the life cycle. (Principles 1, 2; Outcomes 1, 2)

3. describe physiological causes of severe disabilities and prevention measures. (Principles 1, 2; Outcomes 1, 2)

4. describe environmental and social variables related to individuals with severe disabilities. (Principles 1, 2; Outcomes 1, 2)

5. compare cognitive development of individuals with severe disabilities to typical cognitive development. (Principles 2, 3; Outcomes 2, 3)

6. compare learning characteristics of individuals with severe disabilities to typical learning characteristics. (Principles 2, 3; Outcomes 2, 3)

7. describe personal and social characteristics of individuals with severe disabilities. (Principles 2, 3; Outcomes 2, 3)

8. describe physical characteristics and related characteristics of individuals with severe disabilities. (Principles 2, 3; Outcomes 2, 3)

9. describe state-of-the-art school and community programs for individuals with severe disabilities. (Principles 2, 3; Outcomes 2, 3)

10. describe educational interventions for children and youth with severe disabilities. (Principles 2, 3; Outcomes 2, 3)

11. describe services for adults with severe disabilities. (Principles 2, 3; Outcomes 2, 3)

12. describe family involvement issues in planning and providing appropriate education/services for individuals with severe disabilities. (Principles 2, 3; Outcomes 2, 3)

13. describe legal rights and issues in identification, planning and providing appropriate education/services for individuals with severe disabilities. (Principles 1, 9, 10; Outcomes 2, 3)

14. describe future trends in planning and providing appropriate education/services for individuals with severe disabilities. (1, 9, 10; Outcomes 2, 3)

COURSE ACTIVITIES/ASSIGNMENTS/REQUIREMENTS

I. Activities/Assignments:

Group and Individual Projects (5): Each student will be assigned to a group for the entire course. Groups will be given assignments each class session to be submitted at the next class session for a group grade. The final group project is a term project. In addition, each student's "level of participation" will be evaluated by his/her peer group members. Students are required to participate in all group activities. (Group projects cannot be made-up. This means if you are absent the night the group project is assigned you will receive NO CREDIT for the project).

Activity 1 = will include administering, scoring, and interpreting an adaptive behavior scale (Vineland) and other developmental screening instruments (to be determined).

Activity 2 = will include use of ecological inventories (TEAMS) portfolios, and functional assessment tools to appropriately identify and describe student’s with severe disabilities and their unique environments. (Objectives 1, 2, 10, 11 & 12)

Field Activity: Each student will complete 15 hours of observation and participation in a school program for individuals with severe disabilities. Failure to complete the ENTIRE 15 hours will result in a letter grade reduction in the final course grade. Additional, UNEXCUSED ABSENCES FROM YOUR FIELD ASSIGNMENT ARE NOT TOLERATED. Students will NOT be allowed to make-up unexcused absences (therefore, the course grade will be lowered by one letter grade in the event of an unexcused absence). AN UNEXCUSED ABSENCE IS DEFINED AS ONE IN WHICH THE TEACHER AND SCHOOL ARE NOT NOTIFIED PRIOR TO THE ABSENCE. It is the student's responsibility to make-up excused absences. These are allowed, at the cooperating teacher's convenience. (Objectives 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)

PLEASE NOTE: Attendance and professional conduct is expected of all students while in the schools. No student is to change assignments or hours without the expressed consent of the supervising teacher and the college instructor. Hours must be completed by the last week of college classes.

It is expected that students will have an opportunity to complete several activities while in the schools. Each of these activities will be documented and submitted in the form of participant-observer field notes. (See Participant-Observer Guidelines).

Possible field experience activities include:

1. Review of IEP's, including placement forms (identification and assessment procedures should be identified and included in your note related to IEPs). Your notes will include strengths/weakness statements, goals, objectives, type of placement, SPE services, transportation, and other related services. (Some schools may not allow access to IEPs.)

2. Observation of the teacher instructing a group of student and observation of individual students involved in both structured and unstructured tasks. The purpose of this activity is to provide the opportunity to identify characteristics of students with mental retardation discussed in class as they are exhibited or not exhibited by the students you observe.

3. Participation as a tutor to individual student(s) and/or small group tutoring. This is an implementation of the teacher's plans. You are NOT expected to develop activities and/or write lesson plans. Your notes will include descriptions of the curricula and methods implemented and the students' response.

4. Field notes are to brought to class each week for discussion. A copy of all field notes are due the date of the final examination. Field notes are not returned.

Examinations (4): FOUR examinations are scheduled to assess knowledge of information from the required text and class lecture notes. See the Course Schedule for specific chapters and dates. (Objectives 1 - 14)

Final Examination:

Final examinations are regularly administered for all classes according to an established schedule at the end of each quarter. See Course Schedule for date and time. The final examination is used to assess each student's cumulative acquisition of knowledge and skill application of the entire course content. (Objectives 1 - 14)

II. General Requirements:

1. Each class member is responsible for all readings in the text, lecture notes, handouts, videos, class discussion and class and individual assignments.

2. If a student cannot be present for an examination he/she must notify the instructor beforehand to arrange for rescheduling (final examinations may not be rescheduled). The rescheduled examination will include an additional essay or oral component or different test form altogether. Failure to notify the instructor of an absence prior to a scheduled examination will result in loss of the opportunity to take the examination. Documentation of illness or emergency conditions is required.

3. Each student is responsible for all information on the course syllabus.

5. Assignments are NOT accepted late.

COURSE EVALUATION

Examinations (4 @ 50) 200

Individual projects (5 @ 20 points)

Group project (1@ 50 points) 150

Group participation Pass/Fail

(Fail will lower the Final grade by one letter grade)

Field Activity Pass/Fail

(Fail will lower the Final grade by one letter grade)

Final examination 100

Total 450

Final grades will be earned using the following criteria:

Points Grade

450-405 A

404-360 B

359-315 C

314-270 D

269 & Below F

ATTENDANCE POLICY

Attendance is required at all class sessions. Absence does not excuse the student from responsibility for all class work and assignments. The University policy regarding absences states, "absences exceeding 20% of the course will result in a grade of F (p. 79)."

SPECIAL NEEDS STATEMENT

ADA ADDRESSED: Students requiring classroom accommodations or modifications because of a documented disability should discuss this need with the professor at the beginning of the quarter. Students not registered with the Special Services Program should contact the Special Services office in Nevins Hall, Room 226-A. The phone number is 245-2498.

DIVERSITY STATEMENT

The Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders maintains a strong and sustained commitment to value the diverse and unique nature of the learner and to include all students in the high expectation for success.

DEPARTMENTAL PLAGIARISM POLICY

The Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders has a policy statement on plagiarism and a document identifying the characteristics of plagarized work and the penatilities for such actions. The penality for plagarism in undergraduate course work is a zero (0) on the assignment for the first offense, for the second offense the consequence is a letter grade of "F" for the course, for the third offense a letter grade of "F" for the course as well as further appropriate action involving referral of the matter to the appropriate university officials within the administrative structure. For graduate work, a letter grade of "F" for the course will be given for the first offense and a letter grade of "F" for the course as well as further appropriate action involving referral of the matter to the appropriate university officials within the administrative structure will occur for the second offense. The entire Departmental Policy, which includes examples and non-examples of plagiarism, is available on the Departmental Homepage.

APA STYLE

The Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders has officially endorsed the style of the American Psychological Association (APA) for the completion of all written assignments unless otherwisestated. Procedures for APA style are found in: American Psychology Association. (1994). Publication manual ofthe American Psychological Association (4th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.

Class Schedule

Fall 1998

Date Topic Chapter

24 EXAM 1(Chapters 1-3) Biomedical Issues 4

15 EXAM 2(Chapters 4-6) Children w/Severe Disabilities 7

19 EXAM 3(Chapters 7-9) Elders w/Severe Disabilities 10

11 FINAL EXAM